


It Happened on the Beach

by GarcysFlereal



Category: Timeless (TV 2016)
Genre: Angst, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Valentine's Day, and connor mason, and rufus carlin, banana or no banana? you'll have to read to find out, garcia and lucy struggle to communicate sometimes, murdervision is growing on me, so is denise christopher, this was supposed to be fluff, wyatt logan is in this a little bit too
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-17
Updated: 2019-02-17
Packaged: 2019-10-30 04:30:41
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 17,453
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17821925
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GarcysFlereal/pseuds/GarcysFlereal
Summary: Garcia and Lucy sneak out of the bunker to go on a Valentine's Day/Night date





	It Happened on the Beach

**Author's Note:**

> I meant for this to be a cute, fluffy Garcy fic that was no more than 5k words, funny how things turn out. Sorry it took a bit longer than I thought to finish, I hope you enjoy it! Happy (belated) Valentine's Day, Garcy Fam'! ILY all!

It’s August 1936 and the sun is just starting to set on the Olympiastadion in Berlin, Germany. Everywhere you look there are Nazi banners draped on sides of buildings within this sports complex. Chancellor Adolf Hitler – der Führer – intends for these Olympic Games to be a demonstration of his belief in Aryan supremacy, but little does he know that one African American track and field star will pose a blow on Hitler’s ideal. That this man’s athletic accomplishments will lead the people of Berlin to hail him, an African-American, a hero: Jesse Owens.

In less than twenty-four hours from now, Jesse Owens will go on to win his first of four Olympic gold medals in these Olympic Games. Unbeknownst to the track and field star, he has just been saved by a group of four time travelers from the year 2019.

“Despite popular belief, Adolf Hitler didn’t snub Owens. He was seen saluting Owens after he wins gold in the hundred-meter dash, and there are witnesses who claim that Hitler posed in a photo with Owens. However, no picture has ever surfaced.” Lucy gives her team a little history lesson as they make their way out of the city to a field nearby where they left the Lifeboat. “President Roosevelt snubbed him. Owens received no invitation to meet with the President at the White House, and he never received a congratulatory telegram either.”

“Charles Lindbergh is in Germany right now too, right? Meeting with top Nazi officials?” Garcia Flynn asks. “If he is, maybe we can pay him a visit and question him on why he left Bordeaux and went back to Rittenhouse.”

Lucy nods her head, “If we didn’t change the timeline too much, yes, Lindbergh is here.” She pauses then adds, “In fact, he was at the Opening Ceremony yesterday. He and his wife sat near Hitler, but it was reported that the two didn’t speak. However, considering he’s Rittenhouse and Hitler is an influential figure, I find that hard to believe.”

“You don’t think that Emma met with him as a backup plan, do you? Give him orders to take out Owens if we foiled her plan to do it today?” Garcia asks, giving Lucy his full attention.

“I don’t think so. We arrived here not long after Emma. I doubt she had time to track down Lindbergh’s location and convince him to murder Owens.” Lucy answers.

“We could stay through tomorrow, couldn’t we?” Jiya asks with a hint of hope in her voice. Her love of the Olympic movement shining through. “I mean, we could figure out how to sneak into the stadium and keep an eye on Owens until he makes history, right?”

“I just wish the bunker had a bathtub so I could soak in some epsom salt.” Wyatt quickly changes the subject. He’s getting really sick and tired of feeling left out as Lucy and Garcia discuss history, and Jiya chiming in with her knowledge of the Olympic Games. He reaches back to massage his shoulder. He just wants to get back to the bunker. “Has Agent Christopher said anything more about finding us a new safe house? Preferably one with carpet, comfortable beds, windows we can open… God, I miss fresh air.”

“Fresh air would probably do Rufus good.” Jiya says. “I can’t believe that he got sick for Valentine’s Day. Not that we had any plans, but still.”

“I don’t know about you guys, but these past few missions have been brutal. My arms are sore, my back and neck are sore, heck… even my feet are killing me.” Wyatt adds.

“What are you even complaining about?” Garcia sneers at Wyatt. “It’s not like you were the one chasing down Emma and getting shot at.”

“Jiya’s not exactly the smoothest pilot. The trip here was a little rough.” Wyatt explains by attempting to throw blame on Jiya for his aches and pains. “Plus, someone had to stay behind with Lucy to make sure she didn’t get hurt. I didn’t see you offering to do that.”

“Don’t blame Jiya for your shortcomings.” Garcia snaps back at Wyatt.

Lucy clears her throat as a warning to both Garcia and Wyatt to stop their bickering.

The tension between the two men is still as thick as ever, and everyone knows it’s because of how both men feel about Lucy. Wyatt’s been on the defensive ever since they found out Jessica was Rittenhouse. Sure, he was trying to do the right thing by bringing Jess to the bunker, but he knows that he made everyone feel like he betrayed them. And it’s true. He ignored the red flags, the warning signs, and kept his suspicions to himself instead of telling the team. He hated himself for how he made them feel, and he’s still not sure if any of them have forgiven him. Hell, he hasn’t even forgiven himself.

Lucy glances at Jiya and gives her a supportive smile as Jiya rolls her eyes at Wyatt. This isn’t the first time he’s blamed anyone but himself for his pain, and she knows it certainly can’t be the last.

“Flynn, are you certain you saw Emma get into the Mothership and leave?” Lucy hates the question even as it’s coming out of her mouth. She knows that there is no mistaking the Mothership and watching it power up to travel through time.

Garcia wrinkles his brow and looks at her. What the Hell kind of question is that?

“I’m certain I wouldn’t mistake watching the Mothership blast back through time for watching it sit there in the field doing nothing.” Garcia assures her with a hint of frustration in his voice. He reaches back and gives his shoulder a rub not giving one shit that only moments ago he was giving Wyatt Hell for whining about his aches and pains.

He feels Lucy nudge him and he looks down at her as she holds onto his arm and smiles up at him.

“I was just trying to change the subject.” She whispers to him so that Wyatt can’t hear her.

Garcia nods his head. Of course, she was trying to change the topic. Garcia opens his mouth to apologize for snapping back at her, but he doesn’t have a chance to get a word out when shots are fired. From the sound of it, the shooter’s weapon has a silencer attached to it, so not to alert the attention of Nazi authorities in the area.

Garcia and Wyatt are quick to draw their own weapons and aim in the direction which the shots were fired. Emma Whitmore is running toward them with Rittenhouse combatants not far behind her. Three, no… four other Rittenhouse agents are following her lead. Emma takes aim at Lucy and shoots again, wanting to take out the royal heiress to Rittenhouse. But Jiya is quick to tackle Lucy to the ground before the bullet can hit her.

“C’mon!” Jiya shouts at Lucy as she hurries to her feet, grabbing Lucy’s hand, pulling her up. They start running together, hand-in-hand in the direction of the Lifeboat which is still a bit of a distance away from where they are now.

“Jiya! Stop!” Lucy yells at her, fear in her voice as she looks back at Garcia and Wyatt who are still exchanging fire with Emma and her team.

“They’ll catch up with us, Lucy! I have to get the Lifeboat ready to jump!” Jiya yells back at her.

But Lucy shakes her arm, releasing her hand from Jiya’s tight grip. She takes off running toward Garcia and Wyatt. Lucy is certainly not Annie Oakley, but the past few months both Garcia and Wyatt have been training her how to use a gun. And considering she has a little experience aiming a pistol and pulling the trigger on Emma Whitmore, she doesn’t hesitate to help. Taking out Emma would cause a significant blow to Rittenhouse. It certainly wouldn’t destroy the organization, but it would weaken them and maybe make it easier to serve them a fatal blow.

“LUCY!” Jiya calls out for her, turning around and pausing for only a heartbeat as she watches Lucy run towards danger. She shakes her head and runs as fast as she can to the Lifeboat, they’re going to need to get out of here as quickly as possible. Jiya knows she’s not as good a pilot as Rufus, so she needs as much time to prepare the jump back to 2019 as possible. She cannot mess this up.

BAM! BAM! BAM!

Garcia pulls the trigger of his gun a fourth time and nothing fires. He’s out of ammo.

“DAMMIT!” He exclaims as he reconsiders tossing his modern gun to the side in frustration. He knows that he can’t risk leaving that kind of technology behind in the past, not with World War II only a few years away. He flinches when he feels Lucy touch his shoulder. He looks back at her with his eyes wide. “Get out of here, Lucy! Get to the Lifeboat!”

One of Emma’s bullets screams past his head.

Without flinching, Lucy takes aim with her weapon and fires on Emma.

BAM! BAM!

Emma falls to the ground holding onto her shoulder.

She’s been hit.

Lucy looks at Garcia and he smiles at her, proud that she’s become more capable of defending herself and the team on these missions. Lucy takes hold of Garcia’s arm, holding him by the elbow, pulling him to his feet. She pushes him behind her, protecting him. Placing herself between he and Emma. Lucy looks over at Wyatt who is still fending off the four other Rittenhouse agents.

“WYATT!” She calls out to him.

BAM! BAM! BAM! BAM! BAM!

“WYATT!”

Wyatt hears Lucy but doesn’t look at her, instead he finishes off the ammunition in his clip. Not a single Rittenhouse agent is hit. Wyatt looks at Lucy as the Rittenhouse agents shoot at him again. In seconds, Wyatt is at Lucy’s side taking a hard grip on her arm and dragging her toward the Lifeboat. Wyatt doesn’t care if his grip hurts her. Her life is more important than a few bruises.

“Wyatt, stop!” Lucy pleads with him as she tries to glance back over her shoulder to see where Garcia is, knowing that he’s still unarmed. “Wyatt! Let go!” She groans in frustration. “YOU’RE HURTING ME! STOP!” She screams at him.

“Lucy, I have to get you to safety!” Wyatt ignores her pleas to let her go. He only wants to make sure that she is safe, nothing else matters to him.

And then Lucy sees Garcia. He’s running behind them, trying to keep up with she and Wyatt as they race toward the Lifeboat. Behind Garcia, Emma stands, taking aim at him. Both of her arms are outstretched exuding a certain confidence that she will kill Garcia Flynn right here, right now. Lucy’s eyes go wide, and she kicks Wyatt in the shin as hard as she can. He drops to the ground, in pain.

“GET DOWN!” She yells at Garcia and he drops to the ground without hesitation, trusting her with his life as she takes aim at Emma and shoots.

**BAM!**

The one shot seems to echo and move in slow motion towards Emma, striking her dominant shooting shoulder, throwing her off balance. She doesn’t fall to the ground this time, but it stops her from shooting Garcia.

Lucy runs to him and helps him to his feet. They look back to make sure Emma is still recovering from a second hit from Princess Lucy. Garcia eyes Lucy from head to toe to make sure that she is all right. Then without a word, he leaves her side, going to Wyatt and helps him to his feet.

Garcia listens carefully to what is going on around him. His eyes are off Lucy, but he knows that she can take care of them and herself. She’s been trained well. Shots are still being fired at them from Emma’s team. He glances back at Lucy and sees that she has fallen to the ground and it takes everything in him to not rush to her side to help. But Lucy isn’t weak, and she isn’t helpless. She stands up and dusts herself off and shoots back at them. Garcia returns his attention back to Wyatt.

“Can you walk?” Garcia asks him.

“She fucking kicked me!” Wyatt snarls as he glares at Lucy, not approving of the method used to take him out in order to save Flynn.

Garcia rolls his eyes and doesn’t wait for Wyatt to answer his question. He picks Wyatt up and slings him over his shoulder in a fireman’s hold, carrying him back to the Lifeboat. As he runs, he hears more shots fired. He wants to look behind his shoulder to make sure Lucy is all right, but he knows that there’s no time to waste. Soon she’ll be out of ammunition and when that happens, they have nothing to use to protect themselves against Emma and her team.

BAM! BAM! CLICK.

That familiar sound of an empty magazine clip terrifies him.

Lucy’s out of ammo.

Shit.

Garcia helps lift Wyatt up into the Lifeboat. He turns back around to see Lucy running toward him, her gun still in hand. He doesn’t get into the Lifeboat, not yet. He’ll wait for Lucy and assist her first. Lucy sees that he’s ready and waiting to help her into the Lifeboat. She tucks her empty gun into the back of her pants and puts forth all her effort to run faster toward him. His arms are motioning for her to keep running.

BAM! BAM! BAM! BAM!

Don’t stop.

Don’t slow down.

Garcia lowers himself as Lucy is near and she slams her hand into his shoulder to help him lift her up into the Lifeboat. Immediately, she’s on her knees and turning around to offer Garcia her hand as he lifts himself up into the machine. He doesn’t need her assistance, but she grabs him and pulls him in just the same. Wyatt is seated and buckled in, and he reaches for the blue button and slams it with his hand to close the hatch. They hear bullets riddling the exterior of the machine.

“PUNCH IT, JIYA!” Lucy yells as an order. And even though she and Garcia are not safely secured in their seats. They can’t afford for Emma to blast a panel and strand them here in 1936.

The Lifeboat whirls and begins to shake. Garcia looks at Lucy and doesn’t have to say a damn word to get his thoughts across to her. It’s not safe to travel without restraints!

He hooks one arm around the base of Wyatt’s seat and takes hold of Lucy in his other arm. This is going to be a rough ride home. Wyatt does what he can and presses down hard on Garcia’s shoulder, to help keep he and Lucy from being jostled around the Lifeboat as it shakes violently through time. It takes anywhere between thirty and forty-five seconds to travel from one year to another, and this feels like the longest time jump any of them have ever experienced.

The whirring and shaking comes to a halt and the machine finally stops. Jiya lets out a sigh of relief and looks back at her passengers. She blinks her eyes at what she sees. She had no idea that Lucy and Garcia hadn’t been seated and buckled in properly. They are laying on the floor of the Lifeboat. His arm holding onto her tight, and Lucy’s arms wrapped around his neck. Jiya’s frown turns into a smile, and she starts laughing. She laughs at the fact that they very narrowly made it back, and she laughs at Lucy and Garcia laying on the floor of the Lifeboat.

“What’s so funny?” Garcia asks, monotone. Unamused that his discomfort is the source for Jiya’s apparent entertainment. Lucy removes her arms from around Garcia’s neck and tries to release herself from his grasp, but his hold on her is strong. She doesn’t struggle against him and allows him to hold her as he scowls at Jiya.

Jiya has the gall to answer his question. “Nothing. Well… just… I never thought I’d live to see the day you and Lucy would be sprawled out on the floor together.” Jiya smiles and pushes a button to open the hatch. “Well… sprawled out on the floor in each other’s arms.” She winks at Garcia as she steps over he and Lucy and exits the Lifeboat.

She descends the ladder and is met by Denise Christopher, Connor Mason and Rufus Carlin.

Rufus wrapped up in a navy blue flannel blanket which covers his head. He coughs into his arm and sniffles, wiping his nose on the blanket. He’s wearing a long-sleeve white t-shirt and black sweatpants. Jiya wraps her arms around him and kisses him on the cheek before placing the back of her hand against his forehead.

“You should be in bed resting.” She tells him.

Rufus nods his head, he knows, but… “I just wanted to make sure you made it back all right.”

Laughter comes from inside the Lifeboat which draws everyone’s attention. They watch as Wyatt limps down the ladder, favoring his left side where Lucy gave him a good kick in the shin.

“What happened to you?” Denise asks him.

“Lucy kicked me.” Wyatt answers, deadpan offering no further explanation.

“Where are Lucy and Flynn?” Denise asks as Wyatt passes her.

Her eyes follow the sound of laughter coming from inside the Lifeboat. Connor ascends the ladder to see what exactly is going on. Lucy is still laying on top of Garcia and laughing into his chest as he runs his hand through his hair laughing with her.

“I found them.” Connor announces to the room. “They seem to be suffering from a case of the giggles.” He looks back at Jiya for an explanation, but she’s already gone, leading Rufus back to their room.

Lucy looks up at Connor with a huge smile on her face.

“Connor, hey… umm…” Lucy starts to speak as she crawls off Garcia and stands. “Flynn and I, we…”

“She saved my life.” Garcia says as he stands. “You should have seen her, Mason. She was amazing.”

Garcia is beaming and looks down at Lucy as she runs her hands through her hair. Now that they’re back home she’s starting to feel the awkwardness that comes from feeling judged by everyone whenever she’s caught having a good time with Garcia Flynn.

Lucy makes her way down the ladder passing an awe-struck Connor Mason who can do nothing more than look at them. He wonders how and why Lucy Preston and Garcia Flynn would have any reason whatsoever to have been rolling around on the floor _giggling_ with each other. Sure, he’s noticed they have gotten close over the past year, but certainly not like this.

Lucy looks around the bunker, it’s decked out in shades of red and pink. There’s a homemade banner hanging above the computers that says _Happy Valentine’s Day_. On each table in the commons area is a rose in a glass vase. Hearts and Cupids are all over the place. It looks like someone (Denise) was nervously decorating the bunker while they were gone.

Lucy smiles and hugs Denise.

“I see you finally decorated for Valentine’s Day.” Lucy smiles at the woman who has become everyone’s mother figure here in the bunker. “You know it’ll be over tomorrow, right?”

“I figured somebody had to do it. Plus, I ran out of yarn, so I had to stop knitting.” Denise says as she looks past Lucy at Flynn. He’s lingering, waiting for Lucy.

“It looks nice.” Lucy smiles eyeing the pink frosted cookies on the kitchen counter. “Save any cookie dough for me?”

“Of course, I remember you said that’s your favorite Valentine’s Day treat.” Denise rubs Lucy on the shoulder and looks again at Garcia.

He runs his hand through his hair. He feels uncomfortable standing here waiting for Lucy, so he decides to excuse himself. He heads down the hallway toward the communal bathroom. He senses Lucy watching him as he leaves. He doesn’t dare look back at her though. Lately, it’s been getting harder and harder to conceal his feelings for her and he feels that just now, in the Lifeboat, that maybe he went too far holding her in his arms after it was no longer necessary.

He looks around the hallway. Red, pink, purple and white paper hearts have been placed all over the walls. It reminds him of the last Valentine’s Day he spent with his girls. Iris had done the exact same thing. Well… she used Elmer’s school glue to hang her paper hearts on the walls of their home instead of Scotch tape, and got pink glitter all over the place, but still… the paper hearts Denise hug bring a smile to his face.

He pauses at the bathroom door and hears the shower running. Typical, Wyatt’s using up all the hot water again. He sighs and decides to go back to the common area and watch some TV, or maybe pick up the laptop and check up on Jesse Owens. Emma and her Rittenhouse team did return to 1936 after all which means they had the opportunity to kill him again after they left in the Lifeboat. There was always the chance that Charles Lindbergh took care of the job too. But first, he stops by his room to get changed into more comfortable clothes.

 

\-----

 

Garcia enters the commons area after changing into his go-to cargo pants and grey hoodie. He’s barefoot and his hands are in his pockets. He was hoping that he would find Lucy but instead he sees Jiya sitting on the couch with her knees tucked under her chin, and her arms wrapped around her legs. Her eyes are closed and her body trembles. She’s having a vision.

Garcia watches her for a moment to determine if he needs to place her in a safer position. She gasps and returns to present day. She looks around the room and sees him hovering in the kitchen.

“Hey.” Jiya says.

She smiles at him to let him know that even though it’s still awkward for her to be caught having a vision, that she doesn’t mind him joining her.

Garcia eyes a couple bottles of beer in the fridge and decides on water. He knows Jiya is of age, but they’ve developed a sort of father-daughter relationship and he would feel weird if he gave her alcohol. In some ways, Jiya reminds him a lot of Iris. They share the same curiosities, the same bullheadedness, and find joy and happiness in life no matter the circumstance.

“Another vision?” He asks. Jiya nods her head. “Want to talk about it?”

He offers her the bottle of water.

Jiya smiles and takes it from him as she answers his question. “No. It wasn’t… it didn’t give me many details so it must not have been that important.”

“Approximate timestamp?”

“Present day, I think.” She pauses. “I saw you… Lucy… I think it might have been summer, but I’m not sure.”

Garcia nods his head appreciating what little she shares with him about her visions. “How’s Rufus?” He asks. “I’m sorry he got sick for Valentine’s Day.”

“He’s ok. I got him back in bed and convinced him that it’s all right to take medicine to feel better.” Jiya smiles. “It seems that he refused to medicate himself while we were gone in case he needed to help. I gave him Tylenol PM. He’s out cold now.”

“Wish we could all afford the luxury of a sleep aid.” Garcia sips at his bottle of water. “I can’t even remember the last time I had a good night’s sleep.”

Jiya nods her head. Everyone has been sleeping poorly since they moved into this bunker. She can only imagine how it is for Flynn. First the poor man has his family murdered by Rittenhouse, then a time traveler sets him on this mission to destroy Rittenhouse by giving him her journal, he fails again and again in his quest, gets imprisoned for months, then is broken out by the “Iranians,” the world believes without doubt that he’s a terrorist, and then he’s forced to live in this bunker with the people who once sought to kill him.

To his credit, he’s done an amazing job and making amends. It’s obvious that he and Lucy have the closest connection though as she was the first to defend him and stand up for him. Denise warmed up to him next, then Rufus, and finally Jiya.

Jiya noticed how lonely and sad he seemed to be around the bunker when he wasn’t with Lucy so she decided to put forth the effort to befriend him. It was weird and awkward at first, but they stumbled and finally found their footing. They connected one night when neither one of them could sleep. She caught him tossing and turning on the couch while Lucy slept in his bed.

It was Jiya who reached out first, talking about her father and the scars his death left on her heart. Her vulnerability opened him up and he talked to her a little about his wife and daughter. She soon learned that the Garcia Flynn that showed up every day and helped on missions wasn’t exactly the real Garcia Flynn.

Yes, he had a sarcastic sense of humor and could be easily frustrated with the team when they didn’t agree. But behind his sarcastic façade was a kind man. A family man. A man who only wanted to save people. A man whose heart was aching to connect and care for others. A man who had been deprived of human connection for too long.

As she got to know him better it became obvious to her that he had made a connection with Lucy and was doing everything he could to not screw it up. But they’ve never talked about it before. And, well… since it’s Valentine’s Day and all, Jiya figures that the topic of attraction and love is appropriate.

“So…? You and Lucy…” Jiya smiles at him, daring to give him a nudge with her elbow.

His jaw tightens and he takes a deep breath. He should have seen this coming after the way Jiya seemed so tickled about he and Lucy on the floor of the Lifeboat.

“What about me and Lucy?” He asks, taking a longer drink of water.

“Oh, come on!” Jiya didn’t mean to blurt that out so loud. She covers her mouth. “The way you two are together.” She pauses to allow him to reflect on their narrow escape. “The laughing, the giggling, the fact neither of you wanted to get off the floor of the Lifeboat when we got back.” Jiya raises her eyebrows. “She was all over you, Flynn and you didn’t seem to mind.”

He nervously licks his lower lip and runs his hand through his hair. Yeah. He noticed that too.

“Doesn’t mean anything.” He says after a few awkward seconds, lying to himself. He’s not an idiot. He’s noticed the way Lucy has been looking at him and the way she speaks to him. Their dynamic has changed in this past year and there’s really no reason to deny it anymore. But he puts up a good fight for Jiya. He knows she enjoys prying for answers.

“Sure…” Jiya says as she picks up the remote control and turns on the TV, making Garcia believe the conversation is over. She taps her fingers impatiently on her leg. “That’s a pretty dress that you bought.” Jiya turns to face him, a devious smile on her face. “Is it for her… me, or… Agent Christopher?”

Garcia nearly chokes on the air he’s breathing as he sits up straight on the black couch. This has thrown him for a loop.

“How do you know about the dress?” He asks in disbelief.

“Other than I’m super nosey?”

“Yeah.”

“Rufus thinks that you hoard medicine, so he had me sneak around in your room yesterday to look for it. I found the gift box, opened it and… it’s a beautiful dress, Flynn.”

“It’s uh… I bought it for…” Garcia struggles to make up an excuse. “In case we need her to wear it on a mission.” His voice has gone up an octave or two and he knows that Jiya will call him on his lie.

“It’s a modern dress, Flynn. Don’t lie to me.”

“So, what if I bought a dress for Lucy? It’s not like I’m going to give it to her anyway.”

“Why not?”

“Because… because her heart… belongs to someone else.” Garcia gives Jiya a look. A look that both deters and begs a longer discussion. “I don’t have a reason to give it to her, and it’s not like she’d accept it. Plus… whatever she’s got going on with Wyatt-”

“Wyatt?” Jiya raises her voice in dismay.

“Yeah, Wyatt.”

Jiya shakes her head and reaches out and touches his shoulder.

“Look, I don’t know what you read in her journal, but I do know that I’ve actually _talked_ to Lucy about you… and Wyatt, and know what’s going on-”

“So, you know she’s in love with Wyatt.” He says defensively.

“She was.” Jiya pauses then continues. “Past tense, by the way.”

Garcia looks at her with sad puppy dog eyes, he takes another sip of water. He looks away, staring at the television. Jiya watches him, trying to figure out what is going through his mind. She imagines it can’t be easy to mourn your wife and daughter, then find a way you might be able to save them, all the while falling in love with someone else. She knows it’s easier to shut people out, to convince yourself that you can’t and shouldn’t love again. Her eyes soften as she reaches out and touches his shoulder.

“At some point you have to decide if you want to open your heart to someone who cares for you, or if you prefer to continue depriving yourself of a real, meaningful, human relationship.” Jiya lowers her voice hoping that he knows she means well and wants him to be happy. “I know before this time travel stuff that you were a good man who loved his wife and daughter. I know you’re still that same man, Garcia Flynn. I’ve seen him… when you’re with Lucy. You smile brighter, and your eyes are more alive. She makes you happy.” She sighs and continues. “You know that Lorena would want you to be happy. She wouldn’t want you to mourn her forever.”

Garcia finally turns his head and looks at Jiya with sadness in his eyes.

“And you make her happy too. I hope you know that.” Jiya assures him as she stands up. She places her hand on his shoulder. “It’s Valentine’s Day, Flynn. If anything, it’s a good excuse to do something nice for her without telling her how you feel, if that’s what you really want.” She smiles. “Make a card, bake something, give her that dress and ask her to dance with you. I’m sure Connor would lend you his record player.” Jiya winks at him. “You think about what we talked about, ok?”

Garcia nods his head. Satisfied that she’s said just enough to inspire him, Jiya leaves the room.

He doesn’t need to be told to think about he and Lucy. He thinks about it all the time. How could he not? Lucy has become his best friend. For the past year she’s been sleeping in his room and it didn’t take long for her to argue with him about sleeping next to her at night. She felt guilty about him sleeping in that chair and refused to let him sleep on the couch -at least while she was awake- because he was too tall to fit comfortably on it.

They both had trouble sleeping at night, so they spent many nights talking for hours. Some nights there was nothing to say so they laid together in silence. She would wrap her arm around his waist, and he would stroke her arm with his fingers. That was the extent of their physical contact. And if that was all they ever had he could accept that. After all, no matter how much he loves her he values her friendship over anything else.

Before they spent nights together, he thought he knew and understood Lucy. He thought that working with her would be easy because he had memorized her journal. He knew details about missions they would work together once he became a part of her team. He thought he knew her well enough that there would be no confusion or miscommunication between them, but he was wrong. Journal Lucy was very different than the Lucy who stood by his side, fighting with him to destroy Rittenhouse.

He knows now that the journal is unreliable. He understands that its contents aren’t set in stone. That is why he never really believed that he and Lucy would fall in love and be together. He never intended to fall in love with her. He didn’t want to. When he received the journal in 2014, he wanted to use it to try to save Lorena and Iris. All he wanted was for his family to be alive again. But he began falling in love with Lucy. It happened and he couldn’t control it.

He struggled with feelings of guilt. Feeling it was too soon to let go of Lorena.

He knows Lorena wouldn’t want him to deprive himself of love. She wouldn’t want him to be lonely and miserable forever. She would want him to move on.

So, why is he so afraid of trying?

He’s afraid of losing Lucy, that’s why. He knows that the journal isn’t reliable anymore. Their travels through time have changed history in ways they couldn’t have predicted. And not just the history you are taught in school, but their own history. Their friendships and relationships have all changed from what Lucy wrote, but he was still afraid. Lucy wrote in the journal that their relationship ends badly. Why would he want to get involved with her if she was still in love with Wyatt? Why would he set himself to give into love if he was damned to lose her too?

He’s already lost so much. He would survive losing Lucy, but he knows it would break him. He might seem to have a steel exterior, but he is vulnerable. His heart is fragile.

When he falls in love, he falls hard.

He knows it’s safer for his heart to do nothing about his feelings for Lucy.

He tells himself that Lucy could never love him, not in the way that he has come to love her. How could she after everything that he put her through when she was chasing him through time?

It took him by surprise as they prepared for their trip back to Salem. Lucy defended him, stood up for him against her team. He saw doubt in her eyes as she looked at him and asked if she could trust him, but she took a chance on him. She wanted him to be an important member of her team. And months before that’s all he wanted, to work with her to take down Rittenhouse.

He watched as Lucy suffered through dealing with Jessica Logan being alive. He watched how Wyatt treated her like dirt after he brought Jessica to live in the bunker with him. He watched as Lucy spiraled into depression and struggled with her own self-confidence as Wyatt continued to pursue her behind his wife’s back. He kept thinking back to her journal and how Lucy wrote that she still loved Wyatt despite everything with Jessica and he couldn’t not figure out what was so damn special about Wyatt that she would still love him after the way he treated her.

He reminded himself that what she wrote in the journal wasn’t necessarily what was playing out in this altered timeline. He decided to risk it. He wanted to be Lucy’s equal. He wanted her to see him as a human being, not a monster. He needed to prove to her that he could be trusted no matter what. And above all else… he worked hard to gain her friendship.

Everything changed between them the night he returned from the John Kennedy mission. He overheard Lucy and Wyatt in the hallway as he made his way to the bathroom. He heard the pain in her voice. A pain that Wyatt was oblivious to. And that was when he decided to show Lucy the real Garcia Flynn.

She was hurting and he knew she needed to be with someone who wasn’t going to push her to talk about her feelings. He sat with her in silence as they finished watching an old movie that night. Not one word was spoken, not even when she stood up to go to bed. The next morning, she found him alone in the kitchen as he was preparing breakfast, and she thanked him. It was the first time she touched him in a way that let him know that she appreciates him.

He decided it was worth the risk to let Lucy know that he was falling for her. And in the car ride to Robert Johnson’s sister’s juke joint, he put his heart on the line and told her that he wanted to get to know her, but only if that’s what she wanted. His heart was pounding in his chest as those words left his lips. He knew she could easily reject him, and it would be over. But she accepted him and told him that her mother used to sing _‘I Wished on the Moon’_ too and how her sister used strawberry shampoo which made her dream of milkshakes at night. He knew that she had been hurting and to see her smiling was worth more than anything in the world. The door had been pushed open… she wanted to get to know him too.

After that mission, everything changed between them forever. They became each other’s best friend, each other’s confidants. Within the confines of his room they could be themselves without the expectation of others.

Last week Lucy had been lamenting about how she misses her normal life. She talked about how she missed teaching and how she wouldn’t be able to go back to Stanford again. Too much history had changed, her knowledge wouldn’t be aligned with this alternate timeline they’ve created. She admitted to him that she had no idea what she was going to do with her life if they could ever defeat Rittenhouse.

She was angry with herself for missing her mother. Even though she was Rittenhouse didn’t erase all the good times they had together. She missed the familiarity of dropping in for dinner or calling her mom to tell her about a date she had been on or ask her for clarity on an old family recipe, or even calling just to talk. They laid together in his bed as she told him she misses her sister, and how it hurts that no one else seemed to care all that much that she had been lost forever, and how it comforted her that he knew she existed because she wrote about Amy in her journal.

He listened to her for hours as she grieved the life she once lived. She missed shopping for herself, going out to see movies with friends, jogging on the promenade looking out at the Golden Gate Bridge. She hated that her library card expired a year ago. She picked at the fabric of her blue and white flannel shirt as she talked about how wanting a new wardrobe.

She rolled off his chest and laid on her back next to him, her arm resting on her forehead as she told him she just wants to sleep in a king-size bed again. To wake up surrounded by fluffy pillows, soft sheets and warm blankets.

Of course, he offered to drag another Homeland Security issue bed into their room and push it up against their bed so she could pretend it was a king size mattress. She laughed and told him she appreciates the thought, but it still wouldn’t be the same. He didn’t sleep at all that night. He was awake with his thoughts and Lucy curled up in his arms. He wracked his brain over what he could do to try to bring a little bit of normalcy into Lucy’s life in the bunker. He decided that he was going to sneak out and buy her a new burgundy sweatshirt and jeans.

He waited all day to find the perfect time to sneak out of the bunker. He excused himself from the dinner table early, telling Lucy he wasn’t feeling very well, and it would be best if she stayed the night in Jiya and Rufus’s room just in case he had caught a cold.

He didn’t intend to buy Lucy a formal dress, but he passed by a bridal shop (of all places) and saw the dress in the window and it made him think of Lucy. He knew she was a fan of patterns in her clothing, but the stark white dress he imagined would show off her natural beauty without distraction.

When he snuck back into the bunker, he slid the gift box underneath his bed and hoped Lucy wouldn’t find it. He started doubting himself. Maybe he shouldn’t have bought the dress for her. How would he explain _why_ he bought her that dress? The saleswoman even told him that it was a popular dress for brides to wear at their wedding reception or (wink) in the honeymoon suite before their marriage would be consummated. He had no plan other than assuming Lucy would look gorgeous in it.

He decided that same night that he was going to have to sneak out again and return it.

But the alarm sounded, and they had to chase after Rittenhouse again. It was a mission that Lucy had written about in her journal, and he had been distracted the entire time. Nothing happened as the journal said it would, and by the time they returned to the bunker he had forgotten all about the dress he needed to return. The entire mission was nothing like what Lucy wrote. Of course, he knew it was possible it would be different, but it set him in a sour mood. He took out his frustration on the boxing bag in the living area and waited until he was sure Lucy had already fallen asleep before showering and returning to their room. He slept in the chair across from her that night.

Then yesterday, Jiya found the dress and used the discovery to call him out on his feelings for Lucy tonight. He runs his hands over his face and leans forward on the couch, licking his lower lip.

Maybe he should give Lucy the dress and ask her to dance with him. He’s risked rejection from her before, and it is worth it to risk it again. He lets out a heavy sigh and looks at his watch. It’s only eight o’clock. There are still four more hours left in Valentine’s Day. Surely in four hours he can do something nice for Lucy.

He stands up and throws the empty water bottle in the recycle bin and heads to the bathroom.

 

\-----

 

“Jiya, I can’t tell you how happy I am that Denise made chocolate chip cookie dough. I swear, back before all of this, it was my go-to comfort food on Valentine’s Day when I was single. Which, I hate to admit, was more common than you might think.” Lucy says as she shovels a large spoonful of cookie dough into her mouth.

Lucy leans back against the side of the bed as Jiya plays with her hair. She’s sitting on the floor and for the first time in a long time Lucy feels somewhat normal again. Other than Garcia, Jiya helps her forget about the reality of their world when they are together. Jiya has become like a sister to her, she can talk to her about things she wouldn’t dare bring up with Garcia.

Lucy couldn’t casually mention to Garcia how attractive she thought he looked when he didn’t shave for a while, but Jiya understood. They once spent a good three hours rating the men in the bunker based on how attractive they looked with a five o’clock shadow. Garcia and Rufus tied at the top followed closely by Connor (that was a surprise!) and then Wyatt. Wyatt finished in last place simply because he was always sporting the scruff. Jiya even cracked a joke that maybe Wyatt had a hard time growing facial hair so once it grew in, he decided not to shave it off. They laughed and laughed over that for several minutes. And yes, they had been drinking.

“It was nice of Wyatt to let us stay in his room tonight, huh?” Jiya asks as she braids Lucy’s hair.

“I’m sure Flynn would have done the same.” Lucy responds as she licks cookie dough off her spoon. “Of course, it makes more sense for Wyatt to sleep on that couch. Can you imagine Flynn trying to sleep on it? He’d probably fall off he’s so tall. Or maybe his feet would hang off the end and trip up Connor if he had to get up in the middle of the night.”

“Actually…” Jiya injects mystery into her tone. “… Rufus and I caught him sleeping on the couch once.”

“What?!” Lucy spins around on the floor in front of Jiya and looks up at her in disbelief. “Nuh-uh. No way.” Lucy shakes her head. “I’ve been sleeping in his room for almost a year now, when I wake up, he’s always there.”

“I’m just telling you what we saw.”

“Why would he…” Lucy trails off. “Oh my God. Jiya.”

“Hmm?”

“Why didn’t he say anything to me? He knows if he told me he wanted his bed back to himself that I’d give it to him, and after the Ti-”

“Give it to him?” Jiya dons a wicked smile.

Lucy slaps Jiya’s leg, “you know what I mean.”

“I know, but really… don’t you think this bunker would be warmer if he was sleeping next to you?” Jiya throws this out there as an invitation for Lucy to clue her in on the true sleeping arrangements in Bedroom Flynn.

Lucy shovels another spoonful of cookie dough into her mouth and mumbles something that isn’t coherent. Jiya thinks she heard Lucy mumble “we already are” but she can’t be sure.

“It’s not like you two aren’t comfortable all over each other. Did you see the smile on his face when you were on top of him… in his arms?” Jiya wiggles her eyebrows and laughs at Lucy as her face turns deep red.

“I’ve thought about it.” Lucy says as she sets the bowl of cookie dough down. “And not just because he’s the only option I have left here in the bunker, or because he looks good with scruff but... I mean…” Lucy looks at Jiya. They’ve talked about Garcia before, but in a way that Lucy thought didn’t give away her true feelings for him.

“You mean…?”

“I mean… he’s… he’s attractive, Jiya... but…” Lucy is giving in, she needs to talk about this to someone. “He’s… unlike any other man I’ve known. Everything he does for me, the way he gives me room to be myself and he isn’t pushing me in one direction or another. We can talk for hours about anything, or nothing at all… I trust him with my life.” Lucy pauses still trying to find the right words to describe how she feels for him. “I mean…”

Jiya waits for her to continue, she doesn’t right away so she nudges her, “you’re in love with him?”

Lucy’s eyes shoot open and her jaw drops. “No! I mean… _no_. No. No… not in love with him. No. No way. No.” Lucy violently shakes her head as she denies Jiya’s question.

“That’s seven no’s, Lucy. Are you sure?” Jiya laughs.

“No...” Lucy says as if the word is both a statement and a question.

“’No’ as in you’re not sure, or is that ‘no’ number eight?”

Outside the bunk door they hear Garcia Flynn clear his throat and then there’s a knock on the door. Lucy hands Jiya the bowl of cookie dough and goes to the door. On the other side is Garcia is dressed in a nice black suit and tie. He’s freshly shaved, and his hair is parted so it falls on the side of his forehead. He smells amazing, just the right amount of cinnamon scented aftershave lingers in the air around him. He looks down at Lucy and smiles. She’s wearing her pajamas, a thin white t-shirt and lavender terry cloth shorts. Her socks don’t match and there’s a chocolate stain on her shirt from where some cookie dough fell earlier.

“Flynn?” Lucy sounds surprised even though she recognized him clearing his throat before he even knocked on the door. “Did the Mothership jump again?” Lucy doesn’t recall hearing the alarm. “Is the alarm not working?”

Lucy notices that both his hands are behind his back. She leans to the side to see if he’s hiding anything. There’s a part of her -rather large- that has been hoping for a Valentine’s Day surprise from him. Then Rittenhouse took the Mothership back to 1936 and they spent the entire day in Berlin, and by the time they got back she had given up hope of even receiving a card or flower from him, or from anyone.

“Lucy, I uh… I wanted to…” He brings his arms out from behind his back and hands her a large white gift box. “I got this for you…” He hands her the box and her eyes light up.

“You got me a present?” She motions for him to enter the room as she goes inside and sits on the other bed opposite of Jiya.

“It’s Valentine’s Day and I thought you might like something nice.” He tells her as he glances over at Jiya who has the biggest smile plastered on her face. He runs his hand through his hair nervously, still unsure if this dress is an appropriate gift. He watches as Lucy opens the box. He rubs his hand on the back of his neck as she stands up, pulling the white silk evening dress out of the box, holding it against her body.

“Oh my God.” Lucy looks at Garcia and all she can do is blink and look from him and back at the dress in her hands. “This is… oh my God.”

“Happy Valentine’s Day.” Garcia licks his lower lip, lowers his head and looks up at Lucy from lowered eyes. The smile on her face made all his doubts disappear.

Lucy holds the dress up against her body and twirls around as if she’s tried it on and is showing it off. The dress goes down to her ankles and has a slit that looks like it will sit high on her thigh. There are no sleeves, only spaghetti straps. It has a V-neck cut, and a low cut back.

“It’s gorgeous, Flynn!” Lucy goes to him on tip-toe and he leans down so she can kiss him on the cheek. “But I don’t know when I’d have the opportunity to wear it.”

“How about tonight?” He asks, confidence exuding from him now that he knows she loves his gift. He looks at Lucy for her reaction and she’s staring at the dress, so he looks at Jiya. She’s giving him two thumbs up approval. Because of course Jiya would give him two thumbs up right in front of Lucy.

“Tonight?” Lucy asks, unsure since it’s almost nine o’clock.

“It is Valentine’s Day after all, Lucy.” He smiles at her when she looks up at him. “Plus… I may or may not have made reservations.”

Lucy’s eyes light up and before he knows what is happening Lucy is pushing him out the door. He turns around to face her once she’s pushed him into the hallway.

“Is that a yes?” He asks as the door shuts on his face.

 

\-----

 

Garcia’s back is to the door to Wyatt’s room as it creaks open. Jiya steps out into the hallway, quietly shutting the door behind her.

“Flynn?”

He turns around and the look on his face asks all the questions he has.

“Yes, Lucy is getting dressed. Yes, she’s calling this a date.” Jiya steps toward him and digs into the pocket of the jeans she is wearing. “Give me your hand.”

Garcia holds out his hand and steps backward in shock as he realizes that Jiya has placed a couple condoms in his hand.

“Jiya!” He exclaims while still trying to remain quiet.

“I was going to show Lucy that I can make animal balloons with condoms, but maybe you’ll put them to better use…?”

“Jiya, no.” Garcia says as he tries to hand the condoms back to her, his face flushed red.

“Just… keep them on you, just in case. Having protection doesn’t mean you have to do anything about it.” Jiya winks at him, totally amused that Garcia Flynn is blushing.

The door to Wyatt’s room opens again and Garcia is quick to shove the condoms into his pocket as Lucy joins them. First thing’s first, the dress leaves very little to his imagination.

_White. Why did I have to choose a white dress? She’s not wearing a bra and it looks like she’s wearing a white thong. Jesus Christ! What have I done?!_

Second, he doesn’t know how she does it but her hair is done up so it is off her neck and shoulders, very much in the style she wore it when he kidnapped her and took her to Chicago in 1893 a few years ago.

“How do I look?” Lucy asks, spinning around to give Garcia a good look at her. The dress hugs every curve of her body. The slit on the side rests only inches below her hip, showing off her upper thigh.

He swallows hard, unable to take his eyes off her.

“You look… good.”

Lucy smiles at him knowing exactly what he means by that. She steps closer to him.

“There’s only one problem.” She as she places her index finger firm on his chest.

“Oh?” He swallows again.

“Shoes. I don’t have shoes to match the dress.” She laughs at the expression on his face, leave it to a man to completely forget about the importance of matching shoes.

“You can… you can wear your boots or…” He swallows hard, he knows she’s beautiful, but this dress is just… he’s just a little bit distracted right now “… or maybe you could wear your white sneakers? Or your flip-flops.”  

Lucy stops him before he can continue suggesting what shoes she can wear on their date.

“So, this place you got a reservation at-”

“Let’s just say that we’re both _over_ -dressed.” He answers her question before she’s done asking it.

Lucy slowly nods her head, wondering where he’s going to take her. It doesn’t really matter, she’d revel in a trip to McDonalds at this point. Anywhere has to have better food than what they’ve been eating in this bunker.

“I’ll just go put on some shoes then.” Lucy tells him as she turns and walks down the hall.

Garcia and Jiya watch as Lucy walks away from them then she disappears into hers and Garcia’s room.

“She’s gorgeous.” Jiya remarks. “If I weren’t with Rufus…”

Garcia side-eyes Jiya, raising an eyebrow wondering if she’s serious. He wouldn’t blame her if she was because DAMN! Lucy is gorgeous in that dress.

Jiya lets out a sigh and turns to Garcia and places her hand on his arm. “I’m not sure how you’re going to get out of here unnoticed, but however you do it, make sure you two have fun tonight. You both deserve it.”

 

\-----

 

“Hurry up! The alarm is sounding!” Lucy giggles as she struggles to put on the seatbelt in the passenger side of Agent Christopher’s car.

Garcia is sitting in the driver’s seat and though he’s hotwired this car before and escaped the bunker unnoticed, somehow Lucy’s giggling and laughing makes it harder for him to concentrate. It doesn’t help that her laughs are contagious as he’s laughing right along with her.  He flicks the wires together again and the engine starts up.

“Finally.” He says exasperated, but with a grin on his face that shaves years off his age.

Without buckling his own seatbelt, he places his arm on the back of his seat and backs up. He shifts into drive just as Agent Christopher and Wyatt emerge from the bunker with their guns drawn. He slams his foot on the gas as Wyatt fires a few rounds at the car.

“I bet Wyatt thinks you kidnapped me again!” Lucy squeals with delight. Laughing, she turns around to look out the back window at Denise who is now stranded at the bunker without a car for the rest of the night. She turns her attention back to Garcia. He has a smile on his face that tells her that he really enjoyed their narrow escape from the bunker.

“I swear I thought I had disarmed the alarm, Lucy.” He laughs. “I’ve done it before. I don’t know how I messed it up this time.”

“Maybe I’m too much of a distraction for you.” She teases him, poking his shoulder with her finger. “So… where are we going?”

“Pier Thirty-Nine.” He says, hoping that she doesn’t detect the truth that he’s improvising the entire evening from here on out.

 

\-----

 

Even though it’s February, the outside temperature is warm for this time of year. Lucy and Garcia walk side-by-side on San Francisco’s popular Pier 39 promenade. Despite the warmer temperatures, a cool breeze is coming off the San Francisco Bay and the dress Lucy is wearing is not enough to keep her warm. She glances at Garcia as he talks, he uses his hands to enhance the story he’s telling. She wants to ask him if she could wear his jacket, but he’s so caught up talking about the first time he and Lorena brought Iris to San Francisco that she doesn’t want to interrupt him. He slows down and they stop in front of a hot dog vendor. He looks down at the white athletic shoes she’s wearing and points at them.

“I told you that the place I had reservations at wasn’t very formal.”

“You didn’t really have any reservations, did you?” Lucy asks as she rubs her hands on her arms to try to get warm. This doesn’t go unnoticed by Garcia.

“No, I didn’t.” He says as he removes his jacket and places it around her shoulders. He rubs both his hands up and down her arms to help warm her up. He leans down and asks softly in her ear, “Warmer now?”

Lucy’s heart races as she feels his warm breath on her skin. _Oh God, yes, I’m warmer now_ , she screams internally, but outside she only manages to nod her head and say “yes.”

“I know it’s not a fancy restaurant, but Nathan’s Hot Dogs are amazing, and you won’t be disappointed.” He assures her.

Garcia orders them both a footlong hot dog with all the garnishes and old fashion lemonade. They walk along the promenade and sit down on a bench in front of the Italian-made San Francisco Carousel which is hand-painted with several famous San Francisco landmarks such as Chinatown, Alcatraz, and the Golden Gate Bridge. They listen to the traditional carousel organ music as the lights of the carousel sparkle on this beautiful Valentine’s Day night.

Other couples walk past them either holding hands or their arms intertwined. As they eat their hot dogs, a man across the promenade lowers himself to one knee to propose. Lucy and Garcia share a look as the man picks his fiancée up in his arms and twirls her around before they become consumed with each other’s kisses.

Garcia finishes his hot dog first and wipes his mouth with a napkin. He looks at Lucy and then the carousel. “This isn’t the first Ferris wheel at the Chicago World’s Fair, but-”

“It’s nice to see a different side of you, Flynn.” Lucy says with a tenderness she’s never used when speaking to him before. She interrupted him, but he doesn’t mind.

“Garcia.” He says.

Lucy raises her brow asking but knowing what he means.

“You can call me Garcia.” He winks at her as he stands up.

Lucy watches him walk away from her as he goes to throw their trash in the closest garbage bin.

It seems like another life ago that the sight of him would make her fear for her life. The first two times she encountered him on missions she was fearful, but after her run-in with him at the Castle Varlar, she opened her mind to the possibility that things weren’t as they seemed. He was sincere when he asked her “You think I sleep at night?” And yes, the day came where she understood.

Now the same hands that once handled her harshly, caress her to sleep at night. And the arms that once held her against him as a human shield, hold her gently as she sleeps. He was once her endangerer but now he is her protector.

He presented himself as larger than life. A caricature, a real-life version of a villain from the Tex Willer comics he read as a child. He always went harder than anyone else on the team. He was always willing to take the big risks to get a job done. He battles Rufus for the best comebacks on the team, but his sass and sarcasm ruled them all. He presented himself this way to keep everyone at arm’s length.

Looking at him now, as he strolls back to her with his hands in his pockets, all she sees is the man he is.

She sees the man who broke down sobbing as he struggled to make the decision to kill John Rittenhouse. She sees the man who decided he would walk away from Lorena and Iris if he saved them. The man who still struggles to live with the darkness he welcomed inside him for the sake of the mission she set him on in São Paolo.

Garcia Flynn is a good man who has done terrible things simply because she asked him to. She knows that he longs to be a father and a husband again. That he wants to put the events of the past few years behind him and move on with his life. She knows he doubts that he deserves love, but he’s all too willing to give it. He has been here for her when no one else had been. He was the man who held her in his arms and comforted her when she opened her soul to the same darkness that he believes destroyed him. She has seen him laugh and cry. She’s seen him in both physical and emotional pain.

No one in that bunker understands what they are going through except each other.

Tonight, outside the bunker, she’s seen a different side of him, and she likes it.

They aren’t here lamenting over lost loved ones or sharing their grievances about living in that dank bunker. They are simply enjoying each other’s company, relaxing and having fun.

“Would you like to ride the carousel?” Garcia asks her.

He holds out his arm to Lucy who is still seated on the bench. His heart is pounding in his chest. If she takes his arm, that could mean… something. If she rejects him then… but Lucy stands up and wraps her arm around his.

“I’d love to, Garcia.”

Lucy rests her head against his shoulder as they walk arm-in-arm toward the carousel. He offers his hand as she steps up onto its platform and she holds her breath as he places his hands firm on her waist. She can feel the heat of his body penetrating through the thin silk fabric of the dress. Without any effort at all, he lifts her up and places her sidesaddle on the brown carousel horse. She expected to be able to look down at him from up here, but they are eye-to-eye.

“Aren’t you going to get on that other horse?” She asks with a flirtatious tone.

“I’m quite all right at your side.”

“Aww, c’mon…” She playfully whines to him, tugging on the collar of his white dress shirt. “We can race.”

He exhales his laugh through his nose and his eyes sparkle as he looks at her as if she’s the sun and the moon, and all the stars in the sky. She leans onto the pole in front of her and tries not to laugh as she feigns a sad pout. The carousel jerks into motion and Lucy sits up straight and very nearly slides right off the horse, but Garcia takes hold of her waist to steady her.

“I figured that would happen.” He says with a chuckle.

Lucy’s face scrunches up in protest, then she rolls her eyes at herself. Her clumsiness is rather predictable, once you get to know her.

“You should have seen me when we were chasing after you and Jesse James.”

“Oh?”

“I mounted the horse and slid right off the other side of the saddle.”

Garcia lets out a loud laugh just imagining the way that Lucy tried to make it look like that hadn’t been a mistake. He feels her press her knee into his chest and he looks at her, she’s struggling not to slide off this plastic horse and is using her knee to try to steady herself against him. Garcia helps her and keeps his hand on her lower back for the remainder of the ride as she tells him more stories about mishaps she’s had on horses.

This.

This is why life is worth living.

This is why he never gave up hope.

One can experience unimaginable loss and heartache and still find joy in life.

That is the gift Lucy has given him.

Happiness.

 

\-----

 

“Amy and I used to come here every weekend when we were kids.” Lucy says as she drops her shoes in the sandy beach. “We loved splashing in the water, pretending that we were shipwrecked and waiting rescue by handsome princes we would marry so we could live in castles.”

Lucy sighs and stares out at the sparkling water of the bay as she and Garcia walk side-by-side, barefoot in the sand.

“My mother would read children’s books about history to me, biographies. I always loved learning about royalty like Marie-Antoinette, Nefertiti, or the Grand Duchess Anastasia Nikolaevna.”

“Wow.” He blurts out. “You said Nikolaevna-“

“As if I’ve studied Russian?”

“Yeah.”

Lucy casually brushes her hand against his as they walk, hoping he’ll take the hint. He doesn’t, at least not yet.

“My mother made me study the language in high school, even hired a private tutor to teach me since it wasn’t part of my schools’ curriculum.” She lowers her head and looks at the sand as they walk. “I grew up thinking the world of my mom. Even though I hated taking Russian or art history or having to stay home on weekends to read the great novels of our time, I still grew up wanting to be like her. I dreamt of the day when I would have my own children. I wanted… I still want to hold my daughter or son in my lap as I read to them.” She glances at Garcia. His eyes are soft and attentive to every word she says. “That was my dream. To be a mother. Silly, right?”

“I imagine you’d be a wonderful mother, Lucy.” He cautiously takes hold of her hand. His nerves settle when he feels her thumb run over his knuckles.

“I was always pushed toward history. Study history, Lucy. Listen to this old music from this historical era, Lucy. Don’t you want to follow in my footsteps, Lucy?” She pauses, trying to push back at the bitterness she hears in her own voice. “I love history, don’t get me wrong, it’s just… it wasn’t my dream.” Lucy chuckles more to herself than to Garcia. “I even wanted to be in a band once. Never got around to telling my mother about that though.”

“Too afraid to disappoint her?”

“No. I was stubborn and rebellious, I had set my mind on the fact that I wanted to sing and travel the country doing gigs in whatever establishment would have us. I had a whole speech planned out to tell my mom she could take history and shove it.”

“But?”

“But I uh… I was in a car accident on my way to tell my mother about the band. Almost drowned, someone happened by and pulled me out of the car before I could drown. And…” She shivers at the memory. “Thinking back on everything, my mom probably had some Rittenhouse agent watching me. It was probably one of them that pulled me out of the river and then disappeared into the night. I never found out who it was.”

Garcia nods his head, listening to her.

“Oh God, please, stop me.” Lucy says with a laugh. “I do _not_ want to talk about Rittenhouse, not tonight. Not when everything else we’ve done has been so much fun.”

Lucy stops walking and even though she’s wearing this beautiful white silk dress, she sits down in the sand, bringing her knees up against her chest. Garcia follows her lead and sits next to her.

“What do you want to talk about?” He asks.

“Anything… nothing…” She shakes her head and speaks again with a softer voice, wanting to make what she says more intimate than just something between two friends. “With you, Garcia… even silence is comforting.”

She leans toward him and places a kiss on his cheek before resting her head against his shoulder. Garcia wraps his arm around her and pulls her close to him.

They sit in silence together for a long time listening only to the waves crashing against the shore.

“What did the journal say about us?” Lucy whispers.

“What do you mean?”

“This thing between us… I wrote about it, right?”

Garcia takes in a sharp breath. He isn’t sure how to tell her what she wrote in her journal. “It doesn’t matter what the journal said because it changed. Everything changed, Lucy.”

“But we did… we do get together, don’t we?” She sounds nervous. “All of this isn’t for nothing?”

Garcia smiles, failing miserably to conceal the fact that he knows exactly how and when they got together according to the journal. He takes a breath and decides it won’t hurt to tell her.

“I kissed you and then you kissed me after we survived the sinking of the Titanic.”

“That doesn’t make sense.” Lucy sits up and looks at him, her eyes revealing her confusion. “We never boarded the ship. We stopped Emma before we would have had to board the Titanic.”

“Like I said, everything changed.” He shrugs his shoulders, he has no way of explaining how or why things aren’t working out the way Lucy wrote about them in the journal.

“I understand that but…” She trails off to avoid revealing too much disappointment in the fact that the event that began their relationship has already come and gone.

“You wrote that on that night you felt safe and protected… with me. Do you… do you feel that way with me now?” He needs to know the answer to this question because as hard as he tries to be Lucy’s protector, the one person she can rely on, he always feels like he isn’t good enough for her, like he can never do enough to make up for all the wrongs that he’s done.

Lucy looks at him and shakes her head at him. This poor, beautiful man. It hurts her to know that he doubts himself and how she feels for him. Even if they haven’t spoken of their feelings, she knows he loves her. Surely, he must know that she loves him too.

Lucy touches his face, mapping every crease and curve with her fingertips, memorizing him.

She rises on her knees and much to his surprise, she straddles him. She places her hands on both sides of his face, running her thumb over his lips, looking deep into his hazel-green eyes.

She wants him to know that of course she feels safe and protected with him. She leans into him and kisses him on the lips. It’s an innocent kiss, their lips meet but mouths remain closed. Lucy lingers longer than she would if she only considered him a friend. She pulls back and rests her forehead against his as she holds the back of his head with her hand.

“And loved.” She whispers, placing a kiss on his forehead.

Garcia’s heart pounds in his chest and she completes the quotation from the journal.

_That night I felt safe, and protected, and loved._

He places one hand on her back and pulls her to him. With his other hand he brushes a stray hair from her face and tucks it behind her ear. He caresses her cheek with his thumb, and gazes at her lips and then into her dark brown eyes.

“Volim te.” He exhales into her mouth as his lips once again meet hers. She reacts as if she understood exactly what he said to her, _I love you_. Her lips part and their tongues meet. The kiss is soft and tender, delicate and sweet. Ferocious in its subtlety.

Garcia slides his hands up the arms of his jacket that she’s wearing and lowers it from her shoulders. Lucy pulls away from their kiss long enough to help him get the jacket off her body. Then her lips press into his, her mouth opening to him. He takes her lower lip between his and kisses her, nibbling at her lips before his tongue meets hers again. He has imagined this moment so many times never knowing if it would happen. To feel her hand in his hair, her lips on his mouth, to hear her moaning as he touches her skin… He pulls away to catch his breath. He lowers his eyes and watches the rise and fall of her chest as she breathes. The strap of her dress has slipped down her shoulder and she’s dangerously close to being exposed. He places a kiss on her shoulder, weaving his thumb beneath the strap, holding it up as he kisses her so she won’t be exposed.

Lucy raises her hands and lets her hair down. She shakes her head so her hair falls down on her shoulders. She tilts her head back to allow him better access to her neck and he doesn’t disappoint.

He wants her.

He wants her more than anything in this world.

He wants to feel her body beneath his as he presses her into their bed. He wants to feel the wet silk between her legs. He wants to hear her cry out his name when she comes.

He’s become very aware of the fullness in his pants. But he refrains from touching her more intimately. He takes a deep breath and closes his eyes. When he opens them, Lucy is staring down at him, her pupils dilated. She’s just as aroused as he. He kisses her again and again. She presses her hands on his chest, forcing him to lie down on his back in the sand. She moves her dress so it’s easier for her to maneuver herself over his ever-apparent bulge in his pants. He can’t stop looking at her as he slowly slides his hand down her back and cups her ass in his hand.

Lucy bites her lower lip and closes her eyes.

She wants him just as much as he wants her.

He wants to touch her more intimately, to give her waves of pleasure. He wants to watch her climax under his touch. But maybe things are moving too fast? He doesn’t want to screw this up. Above him, Lucy hesitates as well. Their breathing is still heavy and frantic. They’ve stopped moving. They’re both acutely aware that they are on a public beach. The organ music of the carousel plays faintly in the background.

“Lucy…” He says her name and this time it tastes different on his tongue, more intimate.

She looks down at him and shakes her head, her face distorts, and she squeezes her eyes shut.

“No…” She whimpers as she stands up. She stumbles as she takes a few steps away from him.

“Lucy…”

He watches as she runs her hand through her hair and turns her back to him, staring out at the ocean. He quietly curses at himself in Croatian. He shouldn’t have… he shouldn’t have let it get as far as they had gone. He had no right to touch her or to kiss her anywhere else other than the lips.

Slowly, he rises and stands next to her.

She shakes her head and turns to face him. In no way does she want him thinking that he’s done something wrong. She feels horrible for letting it go as far as it did. But… she can’t do this with him, not yet anyway. Not without knowing for sure.

Garcia moves to stand in front of her and she looks up into his eyes. All he sees is her confusion, and a sadness he can’t quite place.

“I’m sorry, Lucy.” He’s heartbroken.

She runs her hand through her hair. “No, I’m sorry. I… Wyatt and I happened too fast, and with us…” Lucy shakes her head. “I don’t want us to be a mistake too. And I want this… I want where we were going…” She gestures between them. “But only if I know for sure that… and this is going to sound so stupid, but…”

“Nothing that worries you could ever be stupid to me, Lucy. You know that.” Garcia’s voice is breaking. He has no idea where this is going.

“If tomorrow you wake up and Lorena and Iris are saved…” Lucy can’t bring herself to finish her question, but he understands. She wants affirmation of his loyalty to her.

He speaks soft and slow, wanting Lucy to know that he means every word he says.

“I would go to them-”

Lucy covers her mouth and stifles a cry as she turns and hurries away from him. He runs to catch up to her and grabs her by the arm, she spins around and slaps him across the face. This stuns him and he doesn’t know what to say, so he lets go of her arm.

“Why?! Why would you pursue a relationship with me? Why would you take me out tonight if _you knew_ that you would abandon me if your wife and daughter were saved?!” Lucy yells at him through her tears. “I’m so sick and tired of being treated this way, Garcia!” She’s sobbing. “I went through this with Wyatt and I _cannot_ go through it again with you!”

She storms away from him again.

“I would go to them!” He yells after her. “Dammit, Lucy! Listen to me!” He runs after her and grabs her by the arm again, spinning her around to face him. Tears are streaming down her face and his heart shatters. “Listen to me… I would go to them. I’d hug my wife and let Iris jump into my arms and I would tell them I love them. I’ll always love them, Lucy, you _know_ that. We’ve talked about it. But I would say goodbye and I would walk away from them forever. Nothing about that has changed since-”

“You’ve changed, Garcia.” She sobs. “You’re not the same man you were when you told me that the first time. You can still be with them.”

Garcia shakes his head at her. He speaks to her calmly, “No. I can’t.”

“Of course, you can. You love them. They love you. They’re your family.”

“I’m not the same man as I was with them, Lucy. I still kill. I’m still considered a fugitive. There’s no guarantee that I won’t be thrown back in prison after we take down Rittenhouse. I’m willing to give my life to defeat those bastards, and not just because of what they did to my girls. Rittenhouse must be destroyed at any cost. You understand that, but Lorena never could.”

“You don’t know that! Maybe she could understand, you’d have to give her a chance. You can still be with her.”

“No. I can’t.” He argues again. He struggles to find the words he can say to make Lucy understand. “I’ll always love her, but my heart… Lucy…” He lowers his voice. “My heart is with you now.”

Lucy’s heart pounds in her chest. Here is Garcia Flynn, standing before her, declaring his love, and she’s a goddamn idiot and fighting him instead of taking him in her arms and kissing him. She’s wanted to hear him say these things to her since Chinatown. But she can’t help it, it’s her nature. She’s stubborn and self-destructive. So, she stands her ground, crossing her arms across her chest, unable to make eye contact with him as she says, “But you’ll never know unless one day, out of the blue she sends you a text message, and you know she’s alive again, and that you can go to her, hold her, and be with her. Just like Wyatt did with Jessica.”

“Why…” Garcia shakes his head in frustration. “Why are you fighting me on this, Lucy?” His voice betrays his broken heart. He doesn’t know what more he can say to make her understand. He opens his mouth to speak but she punches him in the gut as hard as she can with what she says next.

“You can’t seriously expect me to believe you when you still wear your wedding ring, right?” She spits this at him as if it were venom meant to kill.

“Dammit, Lucy! We’re talking about my dead wife! She’s dead! And chances are that she’s never coming back! You want to push me away?! Fine! Then push me away! But know that won’t make me stop loving you!” He rips his wedding ring off his finger and throws it into the sand at her feet. “Happy now?!” He growls at her as he takes a step closer to where she stands, intending to intimidate her with his size.

He stares down, unblinking, into her eyes. Tears threaten to fall down his face and if they do, he doesn’t care. He wants her to see how much she’s hurting him. He wants her to see anger, but all he shows is the pain he’s feeling. He feels like he’s losing her too and his heart cannot bear to take that loss. He hopes it hurt her or made her feel guilty to see him remove his wedding ring and throw it carelessly into the sand.

But the gesture has the opposite effect on Lucy.

Tears fill her eyes as she bends down and picks up his ring. She handles it with care, holding it protectively in the palm of her hand. She knows damn well the reason he still wears it. It’s the only memento he has of his girls. He has nothing else to remember them by and Lucy hates herself for using it against him. She would _never_ ask him to throw it away for her. She looks at him in disbelief. She shakes her head and wipes the tears from her face with the back of her hand. She opens her mouth to argue with him about removing his ring and throwing it to the ground.

But he speaks first. He’s calmed down after seeing the way she picked up his ring, holding it in her hand as if it means as much to her as it does to him.

“I love you, Lucy.” He places both hands on her bare shoulders. “I couldn’t go back to Lorena because I love _you_ now. I can’t betray the feelings I have. It wouldn’t be fair to you, and it wouldn’t be fair to Lorena if… if she can be saved. I wouldn’t be able to pretend that any of this never happened between us.” He pauses and licks his lower lip, searching her face for her reaction. “I want you, Lucy.”

Lucy’s chin quivers as she tries not to cry. She takes hold of his hand with a tenderness he hasn’t felt in years and she places the ring back on his finger. She curls her fingers around his hand and looks into his eyes, speaking to him softly, “but you don’t know that for sure unless-”

Garcia leans down and pulls her into him, kissing her, pouring his heart and soul into his kiss so she can feel what words have failed to convey. Her lips part and she whimpers into his mouth as she gives herself to him. He presses his hand to her lower back and holds her up as her knees give out and her body melts into his. He weaves his hand into her hair gently pulling her head back to expose her neck as his mouth continues to explore her. She lets out a cry, wrapping her arms around his neck and pulling him closer to her. Her grasp on him is tight, desperate. She needs to feel love just as much as he does.

Garcia knows that she doubts herself and her worthiness to be loved in the same way he doubts himself.

She’s been betrayed and lied to all her life. She’s never been loved in the way she deserves. And he knows that she brought up Lorena and Iris to protect herself. To try to push him away in the same way he tried to use Journal Lucy’s love for Wyatt to try to protect himself.

Love encompasses all emotions both good and bad. It can be joyous, but it can also be terrifying. And as guarded as they are with their hearts, it is terrifying to give to give yourself over completely to love. She tried to push him away tonight, but he’s already lost too much to let her go.

Lucy Preston is worth fighting for and he will never take her for granted.

He kisses her along her jawline, moving his fingers to hold her chin. His thumb caresses her lower lip. He tilts her head back so he can look at her, look her in her dark eyes. The tears still stain her face, but she is relaxed, calm, and even regretful.

Maybe, just maybe right now his love is too much for her.

But that doesn’t matter because he can’t make himself love her less.

Lucy’s eyes search his face. Wanting, and needing to know that he’ll never abandon her or betray her the way everyone else she’s ever cared for has done. She is strong but sometimes even the strong need someone with whom they can show weakness.

Lucy holds his gaze for what seems like eternity before she pulls him to her, needing to feel his lips on hers. Wanting to feel his hands all over her body.

She hates that she tried to push him away.

Garcia Flynn is not Wyatt Logan.

She knows that she is Garcia’s first choice. She should have figured that out the night he held her in his arms in Chinatown. He could have chased after Emma and killed her. He could have brought Rittenhouse to its knees that night. But he chose her. He chose to set aside his revenge and desire to destroy Rittenhouse for her. He held her and rocked her in his arms, whispering to her. He held his forehead against hers and whispered to her that he was there for her, that everything would be all right.

In that moment, Rittenhouse was nothing to him. Lucy was broken, an open wound in which darkness entered her soul and he understood that there’s no turning back. Once that darkness enters you it is always there, becomes a part of who you are, and it haunts you for the rest of your life. He never wanted that for her, but it happened. It happened, and all he could do was hold her and pray that the pain and the anger that overcame her would absorb into his soul.

Lucy feels his mouth kissing just above her cleavage. She opens her eyes and tilts her head back and looks up at the moon and the stars sparkling in the sky. She wraps her arms around his head, her hands gently pulling his hair. She holds him against her as his mouth explores her, lower and lower until she feels his soft kisses between her breasts. His hand rests dangerously beneath her breast and her mind is spinning and spinning, and she knows what she wants.

“Garcia…” She whispers his name into his ear as she nestles her face against his tear-stained cheek.

He stops kissing her and looks into her eyes. He is vulnerable in a way she’s never seen before and her heart is struck with guilt. Guilt that breaks her heart. This is her fault. She hurt him and that is something she never wanted to do. She kisses him on the cheek as her thumb wipes away his tears.

“I’m so sorry.” She whispers into his ear.

Garcia takes her hand in his and kisses her knuckles to let her know that he accepts her apology. He presses his forehead against hers, holding her hand over his heart. They hold each other until their breathing is in unison. Lucy trembles in his arms and tightens her arms around him.

“Do you want to go back to the bunker?” His voice is raw, weak, and exposes just how much their fight drained him. He pulls away from Lucy, still holding her in his arms as she shakes her head. No. She does not want to go back to the bunker tonight. She wants to run as far away from it as possible.

 

\-----

 

The sun is just beginning to rise outside, its warm light shining through the cracks on the side of the curtains of the window of this cheap motel room. Clothes are scattered all over the floor providing proof of the carelessness taken the night before as they were removed.

Garcia and Lucy lie together in a king-size bed, surrounded by several fluffy pillows, soft white sheets, a warm blanket, and many red rose petals. Neither one of them has slept since they checked in late last night.

Lucy presses her head back into the pillow beneath her and raises her hips against Garcia’s as his hand encompasses her breast, kneading it, rolling his thumb over her nipple as he takes it mercifully between his lips.

“Garcia…” Lucy moans as her body writhes beneath him.

Her nipple slips out of his mouth as he moves to kiss between her breasts. He must have done this a hundred times in the past few hours and each time he learns a new way to touch her that makes her feel good. He trails kisses up to her neck, then nibbles on her ear and finally kisses her lips. Her mouth opens to him and the kiss is slow, and wet, and arousing.

They’ve laid like this for hours. No sex, no penetration, just an erotic exploration of each other’s bodies. They’ve touched each other in ways that nearly brought them over the edge but backed off and focused on other ways to learn what the other likes. Undeniably, whenever they finally decide to come up for air they will be masters in the art of foreplay.

Last night they both agreed that it would be too soon for them to make love and he admitted to her that he had condoms in his suit pocket if they changed their minds. And there have been many times they stopped to catch their breath and talked about if they wanted to properly consummate their relationship only to decide that they were enjoying just touching and kissing each other too much to give the night any kind of grand finale.

Garcia feels Lucy spread her legs and he adjusts his position so his thigh presses against her center. Instinctively, she grinds against his leg. He trails his hand from her breast to rest on her hip. She whimpers into his mouth and squeezes her eyes shut, her hands clutching onto the sheets around her.

“Draga…” He whispers. “Do we need to slow down again?” He kisses her shoulder.

Lucy shakes her head and bites down on her lower lip as she moves her hips against him, stimulating herself against the hard muscle of his thigh. Once again, she is just on the edge of climax. Garcia places his hand firm on her hips to hold her still. A groan comes from deep in her throat in protest, the sound of her so close to orgasm sends blood straight to his penis. He lowers his face into her neck and growls, sending vibrations through her body.

He closes his eyes and counts to ten to try to control his arousal.

One… two… three… four… he feels the fabric of his boxer briefs tighten against him… five… six… he licks his lips and lowers his mouth back on her breast, sucking gently at her porcelain skin… seven… her back arches and she reaches behind her and holds onto the rails of the headboard… eight… he moves his hand to her inner thigh… nine…

“Touch me…” Lucy whimpers as she lets go of the headboard. She takes hold of his hand between her legs, guiding him to touch her through her panties.

And oh God, she’s wet.

Garcia uses his whole hand to massage her, moving his hand like a wave, changing the pressure of his touch from firm to soft and back again. He knows what they agreed on, so he tries to ignore his erection as her body gently rocks against his hand.

One… two… he moves his fingers up to her clit and rubs it through her panties… three… she moans her approval… four… five… he kisses her on the forehead…

“Lucy…” He’s breathless. “Do you want to come?”

… six… she nods her head, giving him permission to take her over the edge… seven… he hooks his thumb under her panties and pulls them off her body… eight… nine… he could come just from watching her… ten… he slides two fingers on either side of her clit and slowly rubs her. His balls are tight and he tries to focus on what he’s doing to Lucy, but ends up trying to count to ten again… one… two… precum seeps into his boxer briefs… he groans and slides his fingers to circle over her opening… three… he strokes her clit… four… he inserts two fingers into her, curling his fingers to hit her sweet spot…

“Mmmm… Garcia…” She moans his name.

… five… he cries out as he feels Lucy take his shaft firmly in her hand. Her touch is like a bolt of lightning, and she strokes him over and over and over again.

“Lucy…” He growls, intoxicated by her touch. “Lu… Lucy…” He inhales sharply as she holds onto him tight, moving her fist up and down his shaft in three quick tugging motions. She slows and her fingertips lightly stroke his balls. He groans, Jesus Christ, he’s going to come and he’s going to come hard if she keeps going on him like this. He grabs onto her hand, “Stop.” His voice is hoarse.

Lucy looks at him wide-eyed and asks, “Do you not want-”

“Believe me…” He’s panting. “I do. I just…” He smiles down at her as he brushes a strand of hair from her face, “I just want to make sure that this is what you want.”

Lucy closes her eyes and wets her lips. He leans down and kisses her eyelid and strokes her cheek with his hand. He assures her, “It’s ok if you don’t want this now.”

Lucy lets out a sigh and her entire body trembles.

“You’re going to be the end of me, aren’t you?” She flashes him a wicked smile as she maneuvers him onto his back and straddles him, pinning his arms above his head. She leans down and kisses him pressing her chest against his. She lightly runs her fingernails down the sides of both his arms, lower and lower until her hands rest on his hips. He raises his knees, planting the heels of his feet firm into the mattress.

“What do you want?” She asks him. “Gentle…?” She kisses his forehead. “Or responsive…?” She leans down and gently bites his lower lip as she slides her tongue into his mouth. He groans long and hard as their tongues fight for control of the other. He feels her hips grinding against his abdomen and he knows exactly what he wants. He throws his head to the side and cocks his eyebrow.

“I want to watch you come.” He’s honest. It feels awkward and revealing, but the truth is that he gets off on watching his partner orgasm before him. He moves his hand to touch her, but she stops him.

“Do you trust me?” She asks as she places his hand on her thigh.

He nods his head and swallows.

Lucy leans back against his legs, anchoring herself to him. With eyes closed, she touches her breasts with one hand, squeezing and pinching her nipples as she reaches out and does the same to him. She slowly grinds against his body as she lowers her hand between her legs and starts to masturbate.

He places his hands on her thighs. He can feel her muscles contracting beneath his hands as she moves against the rhythm of her own hand. Her ass rubs against his erection just enough that he’s damn sure it’s intentional on her part. He watches her as she rubs her clit with her fingers. She says his name as she brings herself closer to orgasm.

BANG! BANG! BANG!

Three loud knocks on their motel room door startles them both.

Lucy lets out a loud gasp of frustration as she rolls off Garcia. They share a look. They’re not in the bunker. What if a member of Rittenhouse spotted them on the pier last night? What if Emma followed them here?

Lucy yanks the sheet off the bed and wraps it around her naked body.

“You didn’t happen to bring a gun, did you?” She whispers to him.

“No.”

Garcia stands up, no need to worry about his erection, it’s long gone. He walks to the window and peeks out from the curtain.

“I can’t see anything.” He whispers back to her.

Lucy walks toward him, holding the sheet up to keep herself covered. They might as well get this over with. She gives him a look and goes to the door. She opens it.

“GO! GO! GO!” Wyatt yells to the S.W.A.T. team behind him.

Wyatt grabs Lucy and pulls her out of the way as the team storms into the motel room, aiming their weapons at Garcia who is forced to stand there in his black boxer briefs and his arms above his head.

Wyatt drags Lucy out of the room and backs her up against the side of the brick building. He looks her up and down and his brow wrinkles. He runs his hand through her hair and moves her head to the side, examining her for injury.

“Oh my God, Lucy…” He reacts to seeing the love marks left on her neck and shoulders by Garcia Flynn. “Did they hurt you?” He takes a deep breath and squares his jaw. “I swear to God if Rittenhouse hurt you-”

“I wasn’t with Rittenhouse.” Lucy says carefully. She’s unsure how to tell Wyatt what he and this team interrupted.

“Then who…?” Wyatt trails off as he sees Garcia exit the motel room wearing only his underwear.

For a second, Lucy thinks that Wyatt is going to be sick and she steps aside, out of his grasp. She goes to stand by Garcia, and he drapes his arm over her bare shoulders. Lucy can see that Bunker Flynn has exited the motel building. Though his arm is around her shoulder, his other hand rests on his hip, and there’s a smug smirk on his face as he watches Wyatt figure out what was going on. Lucy rolls her eyes at him, but deep down, she’s amused as well.

They watch Wyatt with curiosity. Is the idea of them together, in dishabille, that repulsive to him? He looks like he just stepped off the Lifeboat and has motion sickness.

“The next time you two want to have a date night, make sure to clear it with me first.” Agent Christopher’s voice comes from behind them. Lucy and Garcia turn around and see that she is trying to look unhappy with them. “Do you two have any idea what we’ve been through trying to track you down?”

Jiya is walking next to Denise, her hands in her pockets. It’s clear that Jiya didn’t want to ruin their evening so she kept her mouth shut about their sneaking off for a Valentine’s Day date. She looks first at Lucy and then at Garcia and ever so slightly shakes her head hoping they understand that she’d rather Denise not know that she played a role in their bunker escape last night.

“We’re sorry.” Lucy and Garcia say at the same time. Lucy looks up at Garcia and he motions for her to continue. “Denise…” Lucy doesn’t really know what to say, she knows that they were in the wrong for sneaking out of the bunker. “It was a spur-of-the-moment thing… it was Valentine’s Day and Garcia bought me a new dress and…” Lucy smiles up at Garcia, trailing off so that he might finish the story.                                                        

“And… I took her out and we had a uh… good time.” He winks at Lucy as she blushes.

“Well…” Denise eyes them both and does her best not to smile. “Whatever we _interrupted_. Get dressed, you’re coming back to the bunker.”

“Yes, ma’am.” Garcia responds with a nod of his head. “Will we be interrupted again if we try to finish what we started?” He asks Denise, calling out to her as she walks away. Lucy jabs him with her elbow. Did he really just say that?

Denise ignores his question knowing that he only asked it to troll her.

Jiya stands in front of them for a beat longer, smiling at them. She takes a step closer and leans in, speaking in a hush. “I have to know… did you first kiss on the carousel or on the beach?”

Lucy spins around and looks at Jiya with her jaw dropped.

“Wha… how did you…?” Lucy can’t form her question properly.

“I’ve been having visions of you two since you returned from 1912. That’s all.” Jiya responds. “Let’s just say that depending on where you shared your first kiss determines where you two end up together. One has a happy ending, and the other… not so much. So… where did you first kiss? On the carousel or on the beach?”

“Beach.” Garcia answers Jiya’s question, drawing Lucy into him. “It happened on the beach.”

Jiya looks from Garcia to Lucy and back again. She nods her head and smiles. Then she turns around and walks away from them without saying anything more.


End file.
